Heavy rain today and forecast also for tomorrow should see the footing very heavy by tomorrow afternoon, but despite the belief of the camp, Big Mike is no slug in the deep stuff and don't forget he won by close to five lengths on this track two weeks ago.
It will be an interesting race in the KS Browne Hurdles between The Shackler and It's A Wonder.
The Shackler won the Waikato Hurdles, beating It's A Wonder, but the finish would have been close had It's A Wonder not made a mess of a fence close to home.
The difference this time is that It's A Wonder meets the other horse 2.5kg better - quite a gap given that It's A Wonder still picked up second money. That should give it to It's A Wonder.
Perry Mason's steeplechase record is two starts for two crashes. He still looks the winner of his third attempt in Race 5. He would have won here a couple of weeks ago, but made a mess of the last. He will have learned from that.
As we've seen for the last 12 months, horses from the Baker/Forsman stable take plenty of stopping and the pair have two of the best chances, Ole Ole and Peaceful in the Ssangyong Auckland Futurity Stakes.
Andrew Forsman has a leaning towards Peaceful, a filly that has shown form and who looks a good type for a 3-year-old next season.
Ole Ole will handle testing conditions and has looked good in his three starts.
Underthemoonlight should be improved for her first-up run at Rotorua. She has previously performed well fresh, but the Rotorua track was so testing she could be forgiven. Southern Icon's Te Rapa track record is so remarkable he always has to be considered.
Grand Rio was disappointing at Rotorua, but like Underthemoonlight, forgive him that. He likes this track.
